Marvelous Things
by Smack-Dab-In-The-Middle
Summary: Not everyone in the Valley of Peace is interested in the art of Kung Fu.
1. Chapter 1

**Yo. So, this is my first Kung Fu Panda story :I Of course, I have an OC for it. I usually don't read a whole lot of fanfics with oc's in them due to the fact that ...well, I just don't.**

**-shot-**

**Anywizzle, hope enjoy the first chapter :B**

**What's the point of putting "I DON'T OWN KUNG FU PANDA LOL"? You all know I don't :B**

**One more thing, this doesn't necessarily have a plot to it. Well, maybe. Ah, you'll find out.  
**

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It was quite a peaceful, late afternoon in the Valley of Peace. Crisp, crunchy leaves fell from the trees as the autumn weather began to settle in. We find our five heroes training at the Jade Palace with the Dragon Warrior as they did every other day. Ever since Tai Lung had been defeated months prior, Master Shifu was a bit more lenient on the kung fu warriors, giving them the opportunity to do as they pleased rather than training all day, every day.

The large doors creaked open as Zeng, the Jade Palace's goose messenger waddled in and over to the old red panda with a small female following behind him.

"Master Shifu, you have a visitor." Zeng informed the master as he motioned to the female. Shifu nodded once and stuck his hand out.

"That's enough for today." He told the Furious Five and Dragon Warrior then turned back to the two animals.

"Hello, Master Shifu." The girl greeted, putting her hands together and bowing in respect. "I'm afraid I have some very saddening news."

Shifu's eyebrows raised just a smidge. "Oh?"

"Yes. I'm sure you probably don't remember me. I haven't been here in a very long time," She started then cleared her throat awkwardly. "I'm sorry to say that Yus Wai cannot paint anymore. He… passed away not too long ago."

Shifu's peaceful expression had faded and now turned into one of sudden sadness. "Did he really? That's terrible…" He muttered as he remembered how he and the man were such good friends over the years. Yus was the top painter in China when he was alive. He painted for legendary kung fu warriors, emperors, and other royalty. No one could compare to the man's art skills.

"You said you've been here before?" Shifu asked the female. She nodded her head slowly.

"Yes. Don't you remember? I'm Yus' daughter. I visited a few times when I was very young."

Shifu's ears perked, now suddenly realizing who this girl was. "Nu? Little Nu?" She smiled and nodded once more. "My goodness, you have grown so much."

Nu shrugged and chuckled. "Not by much, but, yes, I suppose." She stated, for she was only a head or so taller then Shifu. "Master Shifu…I know no one could ever be as good as my father but he taught me everything he knew about the art of painting. If you still need an artist, I'd be happy to do it anytime."

Shifu closed his eyes and thought for a minute. Painting wasn't necessarily a big deal in the Jade Palace, but that didn't mean it still wasn't appreciated. Everyone in the land adored such things as art and entertainment and when a good artist or musician came up, it was hard to ignore. "Come with me." He said to Nu then turned to the other six. "You too."

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Shifu had led them to the courtyard in the middle of the palace. The six masters still had no idea what was going on or who this small female was in the first place.

"I'm sure this is a fine place for you to paint, Nu." Shifu said.

"It is very nice," Nu agreed. "What will I be painting, Master?"

"The Furious Five of course…and the Dragon Warrior."

"Dragon Warrior, eh?" She whispered to herself then looked over at the group. "So, who is it? Tigress? Crane? Monkey? Viper? Mantis?"

"Nope!" Po, the large panda chuckled then pointed to himself. "Me." He grinned. Even after all that had happened, he still couldn't get over the fact that he was what he always wanted to be; A master at kung fu.

Nu blinked. "…Him? The panda?" She asked Shifu but didn't get an answer. She looked around and saw that Shifu had left. "Uh…" She looked back at the group and waved meekly. "Well, I guess I should probably introduce myself…my name is Nu and apparently, I'm going to be painting you all today." She bowed.

"You're going to paint us? That's AWESOME!" Po exclaimed, and then rubbed his big white belly. "Already got your canvas!"

Nu chuckled a little bit. "No, I'm painting you, not painting _on _you." She put a finger up to her lips. "Uhm…I'll be right back. I left all my stuff…" And with that said, Nu ran out of the courtyard and down the very long flight of stairs.

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A little while later, Nu came back up the steps and into the courtyard, breathing hard as she set her items down. She had an easel, many paints in a little wooden box, all different kinds of brushes, and a few little containers full of water. She plopped herself down on the ground and the group began to worry.

"Are you alright?" Viper asked with concerned eyes as she slithered over.

Nu nodded and let out a big breath. "Yes, I'm okay. Those stairs are just…brutal." She shook her head and stood up. She set up the easel and gathered her paints together. "Alright, you guys ready?"

They all got into posing positions and stood still so the small Margay could match up their looks perfectly on the paper. She had never drawn a group picture before but she wasn't going to say that out loud. She was thinking to herself when Mantis' voice had interrupted her train of thought.

"So, are you like, ten or something?" He asked.

Nu cleared her throat. "No, I'm not ten. I'm much older than that."

"…Nineteen?" Monkey tried to guess.

"Nope, older." Nu shook her head as she finished the black and white sketch.

"Older?" Crane looked surprised. "But…"

"Yes, it's kind of a birth defect you could say." The small female explained. "Stunted growth is a real problem that skipped my mother's generation. If I were normal, I'd probably be around Master Tigress' height, maybe shorter." She didn't seem too upset about it. Heck, she was used to it by now. Or so she'd like to think. After a while, Nu looked up at the sky and noticed it dimming and its daytime blue beginning to turn into all sorts of pinks and purples and oranges.

"Hey, guys, it's starting to get a bit late. I'm going to have to finish this tomorrow. D-do you think Master Shifu will be okay with that?" Nu asked, hesitantly.

"Oh, pfft, of course!" Po said, nodding, honestly not knowing whether Shifu would be alright with that or not. He just figured it wasn't a big deal.

"Oh, good." Nu chuckled nervously. "Er, can someone help me bring this stuff back to my place? It's…kind of heavy."

Monkey raised his hand and said, "I'll go." He sprang over and lifted the easel over one of his shoulders. Nu grinned as she waved goodbye to the five warriors making their way into the palace to eat dinner.

"Aren't these steps complete torture?" Nu asked Monkey, trying to be friendly and make conversation.

Monkey shrugged. "I've been up and down them so many times that I've gotten used to them." He laughed. "And trust me; you don't _know_ torture." He added with a chuckle.

Nu led the way to a tree that had a rather large wooden box up on the branches. "I'm glad you came along." Nu said, looking up at the box. "I would've never been able to get this stuff up there when I can barely get up there myself…"

"This is where you live?" Monkey asked, cocking an eyebrow. She was the only citizen of the Valley of Peace who didn't actually live in the Valley, but near it.

"Yes, I can't afford to go anywhere else." Nu sighed sadly then shrugged. "But could y-" She was cut off by watching Monkey jump from branch to branch until he was inside the box. He reached down and Nu handed him first the easel and then the wooden box filled to the brim with paint, paintbrushes, and water containers.

"Thank you so much for helping with my things." Nu thanked him from down on the ground. "Uhm…can you pull me up?" She asked, embarrassed. She usually had to climb the tree to actually get up there when no one was around to help her.

Monkey extended his arms and said, "Grab on!" She took his hands and he hauled her up, Nu squealing a bit. He laughed and set her down in the tree house then jumped out, landing on his feet. "See you tomorrow, Nu!" Monkey waved as he ran off in the direction of the palace.

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**Yeah, the first chapter is pretty bland. I promise it won't be in the next chapters though D:**

**DAT GURL'S A PAINTER, MM-HMM HONEYCHILDPLZ.**


	2. Chapter 2

**I have no comments for this chapter.**

**Plus it's kind of hard to think of some when you're sneaking on the computer and don't have a lot of time.**

**Ha.**

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"Po, man, I honestly can't tell you enough how good these noodles are!" Mantis grinned at the giant panda, taking another slurp of his share.

"Mm-hmm." "Yeah." The others agreed as they continued to eat their breakfast.

Po was very glad his noodles were being appreciated by his friends. He really took pride in his cooking and it was always nice to see to see that people enjoyed his creation.

"Thanks guys. I'm glad I finally know the secret ingredient…I think it really gives it more flavor." Po smiled to himself as he picked up Monkey's, Crane's, Tigress', and Viper's empty bowls from the table and set them in the sink to wash later.

"Mmm, you got that right," Mantis said as he polished off his last bit and handed his bowl to Po. Just as Po finished clearing off the table, they all heard a voice from the doorway.

"Hi," Nu greeted, as she gave a little wave and slowly walked into the room. "You all ready to continue?" She set her paws on top of the wooden tabletop, referring to the picture they had to finish.

* * *

They all nodded then made their way into the courtyard. Luckily, this was one of their days off so Nu was able to take her time if she needed to.

The six got into the spots they were in early yesterday evening. Nu began taking paints out of her rectangular box. "So…Po? How did you become the Dragon Warrior?"

"You mean you don't know? You weren't at the ceremony?" Viper asked, tilting her head to the side a bit. Nu shook her head as she lightly dabbed her paintbrush into the light green paint.

"The last time I left The Valley was to visit my uncle. He lives about five miles from here," Nu swished her paintbrush around in a little container of water. "The Valley was trashed when I came back though."

Po let out a nervous chuckle. "Heh, yeah that was my fault…sorry."

Nu gave him a questionable look from behind her large easel. "Sorry? For what?"

"Tai Lung and I kind of did that..."

"Yep! Po here defeated Tai Lung." Monkey said, nodding his head slightly.

Nu stopped painting for a minute and stared at Po. She wasn't really into Kung Fu nor did she care about it as much as others did, but she did know about Tai Lung's story and how powerful and strong he actually was. "You beat Tai Lung? That's amazing!" She exclaimed in awe then thought about something. "Is…is he…?"

"Mm-hmm." Po mumbled.

"Wow! That is incredible…" Nu continued to go on. "You obviously weren't chosen by mistake."

"Done!" Nu stated, rather proud of her work. The six stretched out before going to take a gander at the picture. Staying in the same position for nearly three hours had really stiffened them up.

"Wow, Nu, you're a really good painter." Crane complimented.

"Thank you."

"HEY! Why do I look so small?" Mantis complained.

"Er…sorry?"

"We look so AWESOME!" Po exclaimed, and then turned to Tigress. "Isn't this the coolest?"

Tigress nodded her head and smiled slightly. Ever since Po had come around, she didn't speak to strangers as much. She had accepted him as her and the other four's master but that would never change the fact that she herself could seriously kick some ass. And she knew that.

"Oh! It's time for lunch!" I better start getting it prepared," Po said. "Nu, you wanna join us for lunch?"

* * *

"Uh…sure," She looked at the easel and her art supplies. "This needs to sit out here and dry anyway."

"Hey, Nu, you like jokes?" Mantis asked the Margay once they were seated and waiting for the food to get done.

"The _naughty _ones. But…I like practical jokes even more." She grinned devilishly.

"Do you now?" Mantis mumbled to himself, his own grin beginning to widen.

"Oh, boy." Crane sighed as he shook his head slightly; Viper giggled.

"Alright, I'll make a deal with you, kitten," Nu raised an eyebrow. "We play pranks on each other and whoever croaks first loses."

Nu thought about that idea for a minute then nodded in agreement. "Hmm…okay, you've got yourself a deal. What happens when **I** win?"

"When **I** win, you have to do whatever I say, when I say for a week."

"This should be fun." Monkey laughed.

"Order up!" Po set everyone's usual bowl of noodles down in front of them then sat down in his own seat and they all began to eat.

Nu dipped her head down and inhaled the delicious aroma. "This smells really good…" She didn't start eating yet though. She absolutely hated eating hot food.

"It tastes even better." Viper said, taking a sip.

After the food had cooled down, Nu tasted the spoonful of noodles and broth. She blinked only once before she completely devoured her bowl, eating greedily as the others stopped eating and stared at her in surprise.

"…Where is she putting all that?" Crane thought out loud while Nu continued to really shove it down.

"Ah…" Nu sighed once she was finished attacking her bowl. She noticed the six were giving her weird looks as they finished their food and she chuckled timidly. "Heh, uh…sorry. I haven't eaten anything this good in a while."

Just then, Master Shifu walked into the room. "Good afternoon, Master Shifu." Nu greeted, showing respect to her elder and master. "Good afternoon, Nu." He said but he didn't smile.

"Master, is everything alright?" Tigress asked, noticing the rather serious expression on Shifu's face.

"No, I'm afraid not," He sighed. "There's going to be a terrible storm coming this way tonight. It is generally harmless but only if you're indoors. The Villagers must be notified as soon as possible…" Shifu trailed off near the end of his sentence.

Nu's eyes became wide. She knew her ramshackle tree-house of a home would never make it through a storm like that. She didn't want risk a serious injury so she spoke up.

"Uhm, Master Shifu…!"

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**CLIFFHANGER OF SORTS. You all probably know what's going to come next though. P:**


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